William Barret Travis--On This Day In Texas History

     Willian Barret "Buck" Travis' dreams came true in Texas. In little more than four years, he established himself as a prominent attorney with a long and prosperous client list.  He paid all the debts he owed in Alabama. Travis allowed his estranged wife, Rosanna, to file for an uncontested divorce and he was engaged to a wealthy Texas planter’s daughter, Rebecca Cummings.  His son, Charles Edward, was staying with his friend, David Ayers, so Travis could visit often.  Just as his personal life was taking a brighter turn, war clouds were gathering, and revolution was in the air.

     In June of 1835, Travis led an attack on Velasco and Anahuac, called the “Second Anahuac Disturbance.”   In October, he  rushed to Gonzales just in time to be too late for the “Come and Take It” battle.  He was known in the colonies as a “War Dog,” a name given to those colonists activively promoting war with Mexico. He was not a land promoter or real estate developer as were Jim Bowie, Ben Milam, the Wharton brothers, and most other War Dogs.  Travis, with with a vast knowledge of contemporary romantic literature, but no military experience, made inflammatory speeches, held rallies, recruited volunteers, and generally encouraged rebellion.

     Henry Smith, Governor of Texas and a close friend, appointed Travis lieutenant colonel of the cavalry in the Texas army.   Smith asked him to recruit one hundred men and go to the aid of William Neill, the commander of the Alamo in Bexar.  Travis found less than thirty volunteers to go with him to San Antonio, but when they rode up on February 3, 1836, they were welcomed.  He knew Jim Bowie, and they became better acquainted at this time.  Within a few days, Davy Crockett appeared with a few volunteers from Tennessee.

     Bowie and Travis clashed over who should be in charge.  Travis had little military experience, and Bowie was an acknowledged warrior.  Travis gave speeches, wrote letters, and read books while Bowie fought duels, battled Comanche, and skirmished with Mexicans.  The dispute was settled with a compromise.  Travis would command the regular army troops and Bowie would lead the volunteers.  Davy Crockett refused any kind of leadership role.  He just came to play the fiddle, sing a little bass, and help out with the Mexicans.  He asked to be a "high private."

     Crockett did play the fiddle.  The night of February 22, the defenders of the Alamo felt danger from Santa Anna and his troops sufficiently remote to allow a party to celebrate George Washington’s Birthday.  Crockett played the fiddle, Travis danced with the senoritas, and Bowie, suffering from an unknown malady possibly connected to his alcoholism, stayed in bed.  The celebration of Washington’s Birthday was a strictly American event, but, with a nod to the Tejanos present, enchiladas and tamales were served and the party became a fandango.

     Travis and Bowie ignored reports that Santa Anna’s advance party, General Ramirez y Sesma and fifteen hundred men, had crossed the Rio Grande and was closing on San Antonio.  The reports, brought by Tejano scouts, were discounted because the Tejanos were mistrusted.  On the morning of February 23, as Travis walked to the Alamo from his quarters at the Plaza de Las Yslas on Potrero Street, he noticed wagonloads of Tejanos heading out of town.  He learned that General Sesma and his troops were at Leon Creek, less than five miles away.

     Travis placed a lookout in the bell tower of San Fernando Cathedral, the tallest structure in Bexar, with instructions to ring the bell when the enemy was sighted.  After conferring with Bowie, Travis busied himself issuing instructions for improving the Alamo’s flimsy fortifications.   At three o’clock in the afternoon, Sesma’s troops were sighted, a mile from town.

     From the diaries and journals of other Mexican officers present at the time, General Sesma was held in contempt by his peers for his failure to attack when he reached San Antonio.  If he had done so, on the morning of the twenty-third, he would have almost certainly overrun the hastily constructed, shoddy fortifications at the Alamo, and would have little trouble conquering the unprepared, hung-over Texians.  His delay made the siege inevitable, and cost the lives of hundreds of Mexican soldiers.  The indecision of General Sesma gave Travis time to reinforce the fortifications of the ancient church, and made heroes of a group of adventurers who would have otherwise died in oblivion.  It also gave time and impetus for Travis to write one of the most stirring letters in history.

     Buck Travis, aware he and his men could abandon the Alamo as Sam Houston urged, chose to stay and fight.  Travis chose death for himself and convinced 180 men to die with him.  On February 24, 1836, Buck Travis became William Barret Travis, as he wrote the following letter:

                     The People of Texas and All Americans in the World:

Fellow citizens & compatriots

     I am besieged, by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna—I have sustained a continual Bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours & have not lost a man—The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise the garrison are to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken—I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, & our flag still waves proudly from the walls—I shall never surrender or retreat.  Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism & of everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid with all dispatch—The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily & will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days.  If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor and that of his country—Victory or Death.

William Barret Travis

Lt. Col. comdt.

P.S. The Lord is on our side.  When the enemy appeared in sight, we had not three bushels of corn.  We have since found in deserted houses 80 or 90 bushels & and got into the walls 20 or 30 head of Beeves.             Travis

      Travis’ “Victory or Death” letter was written 177 years ago today. Travis sent the letter by Albert Martin, one of the scouts who came and went from the Alamo with impunity during the siege.  Two days later, he sent “El Colorado” Smith, another scout,  with a letter for Rebecca Cummings and another to David Ayers for Travis' son, assuring the boy that his father had died for his country.  The “Victory of Death” letter was received at Washington-on-the-Brazos but the Texas government, flat broke, in confusion and disarray,  could do nothing to help Travis and his men.  It is obvious that Travis intended the letter for all Americans, not just the rebels in Texas, and it was published in newspapers all over the United States after the fall of the Alamo. 

     On March 2, 1836, the Texas legislature did take action.  They adopted an American style Declaration of Independence, and declared themselves free of Mexican rule.  On March 6, Santa Anna stormed the Alamo, and, as promised, put all 189 defenders to the sword.
     The original copy of Travis' Letter was delivered to the Alamo today by armored truck, from its resting place in Austin.  It will be on display at the Alamo until March 7th, thirteen days, representing the thirteen days of seige.  The letter is back at its place of origin for the first time since Albert Martin took it from Travis and rode away into the night, one hundred-seventy-seven years ago today.  Take two minutes and listen to the letter as read by that great Texan, Willie Nelson.   Just click on this link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q43iuWIjJUU

Brave men died at the Alamo.  The world learned of it because of William BarretTravis. (Actually this is a photo of the Alamo replica used in the John Wayne movie.  This one is located near Brackettville, Texas.  The two outside windows on the second floor did not exist at the time of the battle.  They were added by the U.S. Army in 1846, along with the iconic arched facade.)

William Barret Travis

A sketch of William Barret Travis in 1835 by Wiley Martin.  This sketch was done barely three months before Travis' death during the fall of the Alamo.

    
        I have been working on other things and have neglected this blog.  I apologize, but I have nothing new written.  I will, instead, insert a character study I did on "Buck" Travis some time ago.  I pick him up as an adult in Alabama and follow him to Texas in this piece.   If I can get it done, this will be in the "Readable Texas History Book" that I plan to write.  Most history books I've read are written by PhD's and the language is so stilted I have to read every sentence three times to decipher the meaning and it puts me to sleep.  When I get my book finished, no one will think a PhD wrote it.

      William Barret Travis was born in South Carolina and moved with his family to Alabama when he was nine.   Young William disliked the idea of becoming a farmer, so he applied himself diligently to his education.  He read voraciously, worked tirelessly at his studies, and became a teacher, lawyer, and newspaper publisher.  He also became a Mason, fathered a child, and married one of his students, all before he was twenty years old.
      Travis was born on August 9, 1809, and was inducted as an apprentice into the Alabama Lodge #3, Free and Accepted Masons in June of 1829.  He recieved a Fellowcraft Degree in July and became a Master Mason in August of 1829.  Because the Masons have strict policies about age, Travis must have lied about being twenty-one.  If so, it would not be the last time--he lied to Stephen F. Austin about the same thing.

     Even though Travis was a talented writer, his newspaper suffered from lack of advertisers.  Claiborne, Alabama, wanted a newspaper, and Travis wanted the prestige of being the editor of a successful paper, but the paper floundered.  His law practice also floundered.  William and his lovely wife, Rosanna, were not getting along.  No matter how hard Travis worked, debts were mounting and there were  lawsuits pending.  The young man was miserable.

     William and Rosanna Cato Travis were living beyond their means.  They were supporting themselves, the baby Charles Edward, and three slaves.  The slaves were borrowed, but had to be fed and maintained.   Possibly Travis endured this expense to cater to the beautiful Rosanna’s need to be “the lady of the house.”  She was not a good housekeeper, being barely eighteen, immature, spoiled, and pregnant with her second child.  

      Travis had no quarrel with the idea of marital fidelity, so long as it applied to the female partner.  He could stray if he wished, but if his wife sought satisfaction elsewhere, he got all bent out of shape.  Rosanna had a friend, Samuel Cloud, and Travis questioned their relationship.  William suspected Rosanna had strayed and worried that the child she carried was not his.  Life was complicated in Alabama.

     Eight months after his twenty-first birthday, William Travis kissed his pregnant wife goodbye, mounted his horse, and left for Texas.  The court ruled against him on the debts and shortly a warrant would be issued for his arrest. He promised to return for Rosanna and the children when he could afford to support the family.  He rode out of Claiborne, crossed the Alabama River on the ferry, and headed west, never to return.    

      William Barret Travis had much time to think on his trip west from Alabama.  From his youth, he read romantic novels, Sir Walter Scott, Shakespeare, and stories of bigger than life heroes, doing good and righting wrongs.  Travis felt as if he had another chance at life and he would do it right this time.  He would be a dashing, romantic character.  Naturally, he would become wealthy, but on the way, he would live and dress flamboyantly, ride the finest horses, seduce every available woman, play cards and gamble.  He would be a raconteur, welcome at every party, telling stories, weaving tales and holding his audience spellbound.  Travis would fascinate people with his vast knowledge, deep intellect, and quick wit.  He would have the love of beautiful women and the respect of honest men.   He was twenty-one years old and his mistakes were behind him.  He would call himself "Buck."

      Texas was as good a place as any to get started.